Gender equality

Eustaquio Santimano

Hashoo Foundation USA - Houston, TX

Gaganjit Singh / UN Women

Jobson / UNICEF

Thierry Falise / ILO

M. Rakusen / AFP

DVIDSHUB

The primary goal of the ILO is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Gender equality is a key element in reaching this goal and is a cross-cutting policy driver for all ILO policy outcomes.

The ILO Policy on Gender Equality and Mainstreaming supports a two-pronged approach of gender mainstreaming: analysing and addressing in all ILO initiatives the specific needs of both women and men, and targeted interventions to enable women and men to participate in, and benefit equally from, development efforts.

Highlights

Despite significant progress over the past century, women are still a long way from achieving gender equality in the workplace. In many parts of the world, women are still trapped in low-skilled work and work longer unpaid hours. Explore the chart to learn how working women are faring around the world.

Governments There are now more women in government than before; however, in 2015 only one out of twelve heads of government are women worldwide.German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle listens to his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar (2011)

Management In 2015 women head up only 5 per cent of the Fortune 500, up from zero in 1995. Women have a better chance of becoming managers, but mostly in certain areas – human resources, communications, finance and administration.Virginia M. Rometty, Chairwoman, President, and CEO, IBM

Protection More than half of all countries worldwide today offer 14 weeks or more of maternity leave, but only 41 per cent of all women benefit. Fathers now enjoy paid paternity leave (between one to 90 days) in at least 78 countries.

Care work While men are beginning to spend more time on providing care, women still shoulder the lion’s share of unpaid care work at home. The more time spent on unpaid care work, the less likely a woman will have a decent job.

DisabilityWomen with disabilities are at greater risk of poverty and unemployment than disabled men. In most countries, men with disabilities are twice as likely to have work and earn more than women with disabilities.

Arab States There are now 17 million more women working in the Arab States than in 1995 and there are more women employed in high-skilled jobs, which are generally better paid. Over the last 20 years, the number of women working in the Middle East almost tripled (from around 6 million to 15 million). However, there are wide gender gaps in participation, as more than three times as many men are working than women in the region.